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The IAEA issues another damning report on Iran's march to the A-Bomb, Iran hosts over 120 'non-aligned' countries in Tehran with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon serving as the guest of honor and America's top soldier, Gen. Martin Dempsey, declares: 'I don't want to be complicit if they (Israelis) decide to do it'. And then to top it all off, the Yediot Ahronot newspaper carried a banner headline: 'Fireworks With U.S. Ambassador Dan Shapiro After Netanyahu Accuses Obama of Caving In To Iran'. It was not a good week for Israel in its campaign to prevent Iran from going nuclear.

The menace of President Bashar Assad's arsenal of chemical weapons overshadows the current chaos in Syria. In a briefing to the Knesset Foreign Affairs & Defense Committee, IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz addressed the volatile situation that has pitted the Syrian Army and the rebels exchanging fire near the Israeli border on the Golan Heights. Analyst David Essing says there are differing accounts on whether the Chief of Staff warned that an Israeli strike against Syria's chemical weapons could start a regional flareup.

If Iran's Supreme leader Ali Khamenei thinks there is no threat of a military strike from the U.S. or Israel, what does that auger for the current crisis over Tehran's nuclear weapons project? Simply this - the ruler who calls the shots in Tehran, believes he is home free. But what of the economic sanctions? If such big league players such as China, Russia and India indicate they will continue to do business then Iran can ride out the diplomatic threats. Therefore, analyst David Essing is of the view the Iranians will continue to stall at the next round of nuclear talks in Moscow. However the Iranians may be in for some more startling cyber shocks in the near future, that could make Flame and Stuxnet look like child's play.

Who will win and who will lose at the diplomatic poker game in Istanbul? The stakes are extremely high for all concerned and the other silent players not at the table - first and foremost for Israel. Israeli leaders will be watching and waiting to see if U.S. President Barack Obama and the rest of the P5+1 are ready to call Iran's bluff. In the run-up, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has declared that Tehran 'will not retreat one millimeter and never give in to international pressure to halt its nuclear program'. Analyst David Essing is of the view that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak have indicated they are hoping for the best but also preparing for the worst.

'We do not see the latest sanctions or the new nuclear talks stopping Iran's nuclear weapons project' - Israel's Defense Minister Ehud Barak has stated this publically and privately. On the other hand, American officials have told the New York Times that an Israeli military strike against Iran 'could leave hundreds of Americans dead'. Other U.S. and Western sources have also been leaking information designed to influence the Israeli government and public opinion. Meanwhile, Iranian President Mahmoud Achmadinejad has declared: 'No one will stop Achmadinejad from building a nuclear weapon any time he decides to do so!' On the eve of a new round of nuclear talks, analyst David Essing is of the view that paradoxically the Iranian regime and the Obama administration are both interested in playing for time, albeit for different reasons.

It is the most serious flare-up since Israel's Cast Lead Operation into Gaza over three years ago. Rockets are flying from Gaza and Israeli aircraft are pounding the Palestinian rocket squads. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and other Israeli officials have declared they're fed up with the terrorists launching rocket attacks whenever they feel like it and driving one million Israeli civilains racing for their bomb shelters. Analyst David Essing is of the opinion that the remarkable success of the IDF's Iron Dome Missile defense has proven to be a game changer in the confrontation.

Iran has actually stepped up its nuclear weapons program - that is the only reasonable conclusion from the latest IAEA report disclosed on February 23. The findings have vindicated Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's position that the latest sanctions fall short of deterring Tehran. However, the U.S. intelligence community still contends that it has 'no hard evidence that Iran has decided to build a nuclear bomb'. Analyst David Essing is of the view the IAEA findings will lend urgency to Netanyahu's upcoming meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama in Washington.

After leading an Israel Air Force flight over Auschwitz back in 2003, will Maj.Gen. Amir Eshel command an Israeli air strike on Iran's nuclear weapons facilities? This is an ironic possibility in light of Iran's relentless drive to acquire atomic bombs for 'wiping Israel off the map'. Fighter-pilot Eshel has now been named the new IAF commander. Israeli born Eshel, aged fifty-two, has forged a brilliant career in the Israel Defense Forces. Known as a 'quick study', he has flown an exceptional variety of combat aircraft from the F-15 and F-16 fighters to Apache and Cobra helicopter-gunships in clocking over 5,500 hours in the air. Reacting to the promotion, a former IAF commander Eliezer Skadi said: 'It's the right man in the right place. Amir Eshel is a true professional with very high abilities that will serve him well at a time the Middle East is on the boil and when new threats are emerging from states that have no common border with Israel. I am confident he will fullfil his command with distinction'. For the past four years, Eshel has headed the IDF's strategic Planning Branch that deals with strategic threats to Israel and the IDF's force buildup. In a rare public address on January 17th, Maj.Gen. Eshel analyzed the threat of a nuclear Iran not only to Israel but to the entire globe. Read the following report of his presentation entitled 'Iran & Global Nuclear Jungle'.

No one should have any doubt about Israel launching a military strike to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. That was the message loud and clear from Israeli civilian and military decision-makers who addressed the annual Herzliya Conference on Feb.2nd. Meanwhile in Washington, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta was quoted as saying there is 'a strong likelihood' that Israel will strike Iran as early as April. In addition, Israel has also disclosed that Iran has been working on an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of reaching the U.S.

Gen. Amir Eshel, the commander of the IDF Planning Branch has presented a spell- binding look at the current and future threats to Israel. In a lecture entitled ' Planning for the Unknown - Israel's Ever Changing Strategic Reality', he outlined the challenges he has to face in the wake of the 'Arab Spring'. Speaking at the Institute for Contemporary Affairs in Jerusalem, Gen. Eshel stressed that Iran was at the top of his priority list. Analyst David Essing sums up the major points made by the commander who has responsibility for the IDF's force build-up.

While Syrian President Bashar Assad was talking of his certain victory in Damascus, IDF Chief Of Staff Benny Gantz was predicting his inevitable fall. In a briefing to the Knesset Foreign Affairs & Defense Committee, Lt.Gen. Gantz also disclosed that he is preparing to grant refuge on the Golan Heights to Assad's Alewite supporters. David Essing sums up some other key assessments of Israel's high command for the new year.

Why have the huge American arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states gone almost unnoticed by Israel? For the simple reason that Washington is apparently in the midst of building a new doctrine of containment - what Secretary of State Hillary Clinton once called a 'defense umbrella' to meet the Iranian nuclear threat.

Israel's government and her Parliament are at odds over whether the Jewish state should officially recognize Turkey's responsibility for the massacre of some one and a half million Armenians in 1915. In spite of appeals by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, the Knesset's Education Committee discussed the issue but stopped short of voting on recognition. IsraCast analyst David Essing is of the view that with the Iranian nuclear crisis coming to a head in 2012, it is crucial that Israel will not cause any further deterioration in the already strained relations with Turkey.

Not only are all the options on the table, including military operations but the U.S. also has the capability to knock out Iran's nuclear weapons program - that was the stunning message from U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Gen. Martin Dempsey, the new Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chief of Staff. It was a one-two punch to back up President Barack Obama's diplomatic efforts which have ended in abject failure according to the most recent IAEA report. What are the implications?

Adnan Oktar, a prominent Muslim theologian and philosopher in Turkey, has issued a dramatic appeal for the renewal of Turkish Israeli alliance. In an IsraCast interview, that was carried live on Turkish TV, Oktar said it was in the interest of Middle East peace that the two democracies resolve their differences. Oktar rejected any idea the Turkish people have turned against Israel. On the contrary, most Turks viewed the Jews as the descendants of the prophet Abraham and the founding of Israel as evidence of divine prophecy. Speaking in his unofficial capacity, Oktar was of the opinion that Prime Minister Erdogan would agree that the new anti-missile defence system in Turkey be used to intercept any Iranian nuclear attack on Israel.

For the second time in two weeks, a major explosion has severely damaged another Iranian nuclear facility. Who is behind these mysterious explosions, the assassination of nuclear experts, and the bugging of computers at centrifuge centers processing enriched uranium? Interviewed on the Voice of Israel, Defense Minister Ehud Barak assessed various aspects of the Iranian file shortly after Iranian rioters smashed their way into th British embassy in what was an obvious show of the Tehran regime's attitude to London. Analyst David Essing reads between the lines of Defense Minister Ehud Barak's guarded assessment of Israel's current approach to Iran's nuclear weapons program and what the rest of the world is or is not doing about it.

Iran is proceeding full steam ahead in her nuclear weapons program despite mysterious explosions at strategic sites, the killing of nuclear scientists and international sanctions. In a closed door briefing to the Knesset Foreign Affairs & Defense Committee, the IDF's Bri.Gen. Itay Brun disclosed latest details on Iran's nuclear project. Also appearing at the session, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said tougher sanctions could be imposed on Iran without the agreement of Russia and China.

It now boils down to what the international community now decides to do, or not to do, after the latest IAEA report has exposed Iran's duplicitous drive for nuclear weapons. The result will affect Israel's course of action in the foreseeable future. After years of self - denial and U.S. President Barack Obama's policy of engagement and dialogue with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, one undeniable fact has emerged. There is no prospect that Iran will give up her nuclear weapons program unless and until crippling sanctions are imposed. Jerusalem seems to be signaling the Western world 'It's your call' and Israel will decide on what she will or will not do according to the answer.

The International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna, may soon disclose that Iran is developing nuclear weapons. If so, it will mark a milestone in Israel's campaign to alert the international community of the danger. In Israel, a public debate is now raging after the Yediot Ahronot and Haaretz newspapers disclosed that Prime Minister Netanyahu and Defense Minister Barak are pushing for an Israeli strike on Iran's nuclear facilities. So how close could Israel be from going it alone against Iran? Analyst David Essing has this assessment.

Is Israel about to launch a preemptive military strike against Iran's nuclear weapons facilties possibly before winter? Nahum Barnea, a leading commentator for the Yediot Ahronot newspaper answers his own question by writing that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak are pushing for such an operation, against the advice of their own senior military and intelligence advisers. How much credence should be given the Yediot Ahronot story?